[MeekOneGOP]

"It was a big shock," said Mr. Foster, 40, a banker. "It sounded like something fell on the house. I said, 'Oh, hell – what is that!' It was a 'BOOM!' – like none I've ever heard before. ...

< snip >

"And then when you later found out, it was just so sad."

Almost my identical reaction here at my house. I was FReepin' away when I heard it. I turned my head to try to figure out what and where it might be from, thinking 'what was THAT?' Living right next to Rowlett Road here in Northeast Dallas County, I am used to hearing trucks and so forth near my house, but this was different and louder. I had no idea until a short while later when I heard about the loss of communication of the Columbia. When it sunk in that it had broken up over the D/FW area, I realized what I had heard.

Fellow FReepers in Texas, Louisiana, or wherever you are, post your story/reaction on this thread. Thanks...

This thread is dedicated to the memory of the seven Columbia astronauts...

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Video link: Shuttle over D/FW, Texas

[MeekOneGOP]

'It just kept rolling and thundering' - hearing
was believing that something wasn't quite right

Pinging to Texas and Louisiana FReepers. FYI, and post your reaction, etc. here. Thanks...

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas or Louisiana ping list!. . .don't be shy.
No, you don't HAVE to be a Texan to get on this list!

[MeekOneGOP]

'It just kept rolling and thundering' - hearing
was believing that something wasn't quite right

FYI, and post your reaction, etc. here. Thanks...

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[MeekOneGOP]

In East Plano, a fire of unknown origin started on the roof of a condominium at Park Boulevard and Ridgewood Drive. It drew spasms of panicked speculation. Frantic residents blamed the fire on debris raining down from the shuttle, saying no other cause was possible. Officials were still investigating the fire Saturday night and would not confirm the cause.

Hey, there is a mention of the fire you asked about yesterday. It wasn't in the DMN yesterday though. Interesting...

[TLBSHOW]

BTTT

[Xenalyte]

"It was a big shock," said Mr. Foster, 40, a banker. "It sounded like something fell on the house. I said, 'Oh, hell - what is that!' It was a 'BOOM!' - like none I've ever heard before. ... After Sept. 11, with anything unusual like this, I immediately think we're being attacked. And because of the cautious nature I've developed, it's made me somewhat unnerved when anything like this occurs. I feel much more anxiety about things like this, if only because they occur in a post-Sept. 11 context."

If this guy actually talks like this, I'm a red hen. It's okay, until we get to the part I've bolded.

[ladyinred]

May God be with the families, friends, and colleagues of the shuttle crew.
RIP.

[ken in texas]

I still can't believe it.

We had just come in from watching the shuttle pass overhead, and I realize now that what we saw was the craft breaking up. About 30-45 seconds after we came in into the house we heard one or two loud booms. My first thought was that a transformer in one of the neighborhood's electrical boxes had blown up... that's happened before and it will rattle the garage door a bit. I've seen the shuttle's approach before over North Texas and have never heard a sonic boom - it's just too high... it couldn't have been the shuttle. But at 8:15, when NASA TV was long overdue to show the landing approach, we just knew that something was wrong.

As Columbia passed overhead, we saw it get shredded by unimaginable forces. It was falling like a rock, out of control. Yesterday was a tough day.

[condi2008]

Nothing new here, just another eyewitness of the image that unfolded on TV countless times over the past 2 days:

Father & sons are duck hunting near Texarkana, AR when they saw the trail shooting across the southern horizon. A friend says, "What is THAT?!" Aerospace nerd Father answers, "The shuttle. No, wait, that can't be the shuttle; shuttles don't break apart like that. It must be a meteor." The next generation techno-nerd son insists, "It WAS the shuttle, Dad!" Unfortunately for the families, loved ones, NASA & the Father's ego, he is, of course, right.

An acquaintance saw debris raining down near the Hemphill, TX/Lake Toledo Bend area (human remains were found here) & "yes, he did realize what he was seeing".